*(Revelation 12:12a)*

*"They loved not their lives even unto death"*

Every 30th June, we remember the first martyrs of the Holy Roman Church. From the Roman martyrology, we read:

"At Rome, in the time of Nero, the commemoration of many holy martyrs, who were accused of having set fire to the city, and cruelly put to death in various manners by the emperor’s order. Some were covered with the skins of wild beasts and lacerated by dogs; others were fastened to crosses, others again were delivered to the flames to serve as torches in the night. All these were disciples of the Apostles, and the first fruits of the martyrs, which the Roman Church, a field so fertile in martyrs, offered to God before the death of the Apostles".

*"Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord" (Rom 14:8)*

The saints' reward is from God; they died for Christ and will live for ever. Amen.